Mr. Owen Keegan:

I do not agree with that. We have managed to deal with our waste by exporting it to incinerators abroad. That seems to violate a fundamental principle of the EU management of waste policy, which is the proximity principle. It is unclear whether that will be sustained, but I have serious doubts whether it can be sustained in the longer term. If that cannot be sustained, the onus will be on the Irish State to make appropriate provision to treat its waste in accordance with the waste hierarchy. The option of exporting it abroad may not be sustainable in the longer term. The issue has not come to the fore but we will not meet our diversion-from-landfill targets without reliance on exporting waste, and I am not sure that is a sustainable option.